Radio Broadcast:
Key words:
Lobbying Government/ Seven Sisters Clean up/ Alternatives to plastics/Microbeads/Christmas and Recycling/DPC
We are busy these weeks tackling various areas of concern and interest to us and holding meetings with Government on traffic, development, pollution and more.
We shall post updates on progress on our webpage.
You may have seen some news in the media of a group of ESG volunteers carrying out a clean up at Seven Sisters, now a protected area that collects marine debris with the tides and given its remote location, very difficult to clean on a regular basis. However, with the community support behind CUTW we can and have tackled this site since 2008 removing historic dumping of waste of significant proportions, filling many skips over the years. Today we can confidently predict the task will be somewhat smaller as we deal with the waste that has floated in during the past 12 months. Still, large volumes of plastics of all types and Styrofoam – the packaging material that is so prevalent in every aspect of our lives, is still found there in horrendous quantities, and we filled six 1 ton sacks. The issue of Styrofoam needs exploring further as to how more of this can be removed. This petroleum based plastic material breaks down into very small particles and can be mistaken for food so clearly a threat to nature and the food chain.
Still, our clean up was a very positive if tiring few hours for our group leaving the site looking a lot better. Thanks to the GDP for boat access and GibDock for eventual lifting up of rubbish collected. Future clean ups will be published and volunteers are welcome.
While many are rightly concerned about the major issue of plastic pollution there is also a rising tide of solutions, technologies and ideas to deal with this issue. Biodegradable alternatives for all single use plastics should also become enforceable by law and soon.
Following on from the efforts by Govt, businesses and NGOs recently to highlight the need for action on the elimination of plastic bags, this week’s publication on microbeads legislation by the Gibraltar Government is also welcomed. The world needs more of this action.
Citizens can all help by using less of these materials where possible. As we now look ahead to Christmas, Black Friday and manic shopping sprees the impact on waste and the environment will also peak – we urge everyone to help by being responsible with their waste and aiming to reduce and recycle as much as possible! We shall be holding an open day on the 6th December mainly aimed at Eco Art but with a Green Christmas theme. More details will be published beforehand.
Before we go a reminder that the Planning Commission will meet next Tuesday 28th November with the final 2017 session taking pace on the 15th December. You can upload agendas from the Town Planning DPC page and the public are welcome to attend mtgs, which start from 9.30am.
You can find more information about our general concerns and aims at esg-gib.net. Call us in 200-48996 or email us at esg@gibtelecom.net
